How to Win in a Hyper-Competitive Market for Medical Weight Loss

We published an article last week addressing the many benefits of cash-pay membership models. Based on the overwhelming response to that post, it’s clear our provider community is looking for even more actionable business advice.

You ask… We deliver! Here’s another quick piece addressing one of the most common questions we hear from providers:

🤔 “How do I build a sustainable competitive advantage for my practice?”

To make this a fast read, we condensed our thoughts into four main bullets below. If you have further questions or want to talk through the specifics for your own practice, please reach out! We’re happy to discuss free of charge with no strings attached, no matter the size of your practice. 🤝

Graphic illustrating the various types of medical weight loss practices and how the market is becoming crowded and saturated

1) The market for medical weight loss practices is quickly becoming crowded.

Private practice medical weight loss is becoming oversaturated at a rapid pace. Of the 250 providers we’ve spoken with in the last 2 months alone, over 65% are telehealth startups.

With so many clinics prescribing anti-obesity medications from venture-backed healthcare startups to med spas, aesthetic centers, primary care practices, and more, patients now have many options to choose from, often leaving providers feeling stuck as they struggle to build their audiences and grow their businesses.

2) How can your clinic win in this landscape?

There is a clear set of characteristics underpinning the weight loss practices that are able to compete and win vs. those that fail.

What’s their competitive advantage? Having a tech-enabled, scalable, and comprehensive offering for patients. That is the most effective way to compete in this landscape.

Graphic highlighting the best ways to create a sustainable competitive advantage with a private practice medical weight loss clinic

3) Here’s what not to do.

If you’re offering patient consults without a tech-enabled 360° patient experience, your business model is not sustainable. Your patients will go elsewhere.

To put it into perspective, a company like Ro.co has raised $1+ BILLION dollars, and has the ability to undercut private practices on price, speed, and accessibility every day of the week.

To win sustainably and retain patients over the long-term, your practice needs more than just provider consults.

You need a comprehensive, interactive experience with touch points to guide patients through their journeys with events, nutrition, support, exercise plans, mindset guidance, and more.

Flow chart outlining the Alterra Health patient education and support platform for medical weight loss and obesity medicine practices

4) Here’s what you should do instead.

Want to stand out from the crowd with a differentiated experience? You have two options:

a) You can build that 360° patient experience yourself. This can take 8-12+ months of work, a full-stack development team, and an investment of between $50-100K in most cases.

b) You can leverage what we’ve already built for you.

We have the know-how and the tools to help you win quickly. Our platform is plug-and-play, giving you the power to secure your competitive advantage today.


🚀 Let’s schedule a time to discuss your roadmap and implement a plan so you hit the ground running for 2025. We’re happy to have a conversation free of charge with no strings attached, no matter the size of your practice. 🤝

If you’re not ready for a call but want to continue growing your practice… You can now access the growth methodology we use to help medical clinics increase their annual profit by tens of thousands of dollars… For free!

🎯 Click here to download our proven 6-step growth framework.


Article by: Austin Rhoads

Austin is the Co-Founder of Alterra Health and has been a leader in the development of weight loss education programs for patients and medical practitioners for the past ten years.